Last Saturday was one of those days....you know what I'm talking about....wake up with the chickens and go to bed at the latest possible hour. The kind of day when you can hear your bed calling your name. Here at the Dreyfus house, we say "I'm going to bed with a smile on my face", meaning there is no place I'd rather be. That's how last Saturday was, but it was wonderful. Riley had a swim meet here in Tuscaloosa. If you aren't familiar with swim meets (I wasn't until she started swimming competitively), it is a "hurry up and wait" event. She had to be there at 7:20 for warm-ups....yeah, 7:20! Thankfully, Tim took her, while I stayed at home with Walker and Owen. She ended up swimming 3 different events: 100 meter freestyle, 50 meter backstroke and 50 meter butterfly. She did great....it was her first longcourse meet (length of the pool, not width).
Next stop: Home for a quick lunch and a power nap for Owen. Then we headed to Huntsville, for Abby and Jeremy's wedding. Left T-town around 1:45 and arrived in H'ville around 4:15. A shout-out goes to Chic-fil-A on Whitesburg Rd. for allowing us to use their restrooms to change into our wedding attire. Definitely the cleanest bathrooms I have ever seen....Man, I love that place!
If you have spent any time with Tim or I over the last several years, you have probably heard us talk about the Graham family. Our college program at church pairs up families with college students to "mentor" them through their college years at Bama. Abby and her older sister, Leah, were our adopted college students when they were at UA. Wow, did we ever get the better end of that deal!!! Just thinking about everything our families have shared, brings tears to my eyes.....births, deaths, weddings, trips, supporting our adoption...you name it, we have been there. No matter how long it has been since we have seen them, we always pick right up where we left off; they treat our kids like royalty; they are so much fun to be around; and they are always welcoming us into their home, whether it is a planned trip to Huntsville, or a quick stop on our way through. Love this family and blessed to have them in our lives!! I pray God blesses them with a long, healthy, and happy life together!
Here are a few pics from the wedding:
We saw Abby and Jeremy leave and then headed back home. It was a great trip!
I thought I would also share some pics of Walker playing baseball. The regular season is over and now we are playing AllStars. Lots of fun time at the ballpark!
Adoption Update:
We are still waiting on our I171-H approval (immigration). Since we are waiting, our agency told us to go ahead and gather, send, and have approved all of our dossier documents. That way, when our approval comes in, we will be ready to send our dossier to Ethiopia. Lately, I have gotten several questions like, "what exactly is a dossier?" and "what does that mean?". All of us in the adoption community, throw around these terms and expect everyone else to understand. So, for those of you that have been wondering but too embarrassed to ask...these are the documents that make up a dossier:
- homestudy - basically a report done by a social worker that reflects your family life, home, intent to adopt, police clearance, etc.; this involves interviews and one home visit
- certificate of Hague training - an 8-hour online course and readings
- application letter
- proof of life insurance
- proof of health insurance
- employment/non-employment letters
- physical exams
- agency recommendation
- agency post-placement commitment - an agreement saying we will commit to meeting with our social worker to track progress in the home.
- 3 letters of reference
- birth certificates
- marriage license
- passport photo page
- family photo page
- power of attorney
- dossier cover sheet
